Jewish Championshipshttp://www.usahockeymagazine.com/taxonomy/term/221/all
enA Team Unitedhttp://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/team-united
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U.S. Under-17 Select Jewish Team Captures Bronze Medal At First World Jewish Hockey Championship </div>
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By:&nbsp;</div>
<a href="/node/16">Danielle Bernstein</a> </div>
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<p><span class="inline inline-none"><img src="http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/team shot.preview.JPG" alt="photos by hockeymetro.com" title="photos by hockeymetro.com" class="image image-preview " width="525" height="350" /><span class="caption" style="width: 523px;">photos by hockeymetro.com</span></span></p>
<p>The 17 athletes on the U.S. Under-17 Select Jewish Team roster arrived in Metulla, Israel as a group of individuals focused on playing in an international hockey tournament. Fifteen days later, they left as a team unified by their hard work and achievements on the ice and a cultural experience that will remain with them forever.</p>
<p>They were recruited by long-time USA Hockey volunteer Sam Greenblatt to compete in the World Jewish Ice hockey Championships, the second time the tournament has been held and the first time it has featured a junior division. Hailing from all corners of the country from California to Arizona to Florida and New York, a four-hour layover in Newark, N.J. was the first opportunity the team had to meet each other.</p>
<p>&ldquo;My concern was going into a situation where I didn&rsquo;t know anyone,&rdquo; said forward Aaron Schencopp, whose first experience on an airplane came on this trip. &ldquo;I was nervous going in but it&rsquo;s crazy how you can meet 16 individuals right away and bond right away.&rdquo;</p>
<p>After a day of rest, the team took the ice for practice, its first time together on the ice. While it was a good time to get to know each other as hockey players, things really started to come together in their first game against Canada-White, one of two Canadian teams competing at the tournament. The U.S. lost in a shootout but made big strides as a team by getting to know one another&rsquo;s playing styles.</p>
<p><span class="inline inline-left"><img src="http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/jared lowell.img_assist_custom-280x230.JPG" alt="Jared Lowell tries to get a shot off against Team Israel" title="Jared Lowell tries to get a shot off against Team Israel" class="image image-img_assist_custom-280x230 " width="280" height="230" /><span class="caption" style="width: 278px;">Jared Lowell tries to get a shot off against Team Israel</span></span>A few days off gave the players time to tour historic places in Israel, including the Holy Church of Sepulchre, Jerusalem Cemetery, and the Western Wall, where a few players from both the junior and senior team had their Bar Mitzvah.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We see these places on TV and read about them in the newspaper but we got to see it first hand and it was unreal,&rdquo; Schencopp said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s shocking and it kind of hits you.&rdquo; </p>
<p>With a 2-1 record in the tournament, the U.S. team faced Canada-Red for the chance to play in the gold medal game. It was the second time the two teams had met in the tournament and despite the U.S. storming to a 7-1 victory in the previous showing, they knew the Canadian team was not to be underestimated. </p>
<p>A thrilling overtime victory by the USA senior team over Canada to preserve their undefeated record was enough to get the junior team pumped up for their own game, but it wasn&rsquo;t enough as they dropped another heartbreaking shootout loss, sending them to the bronze medal game against Israel.</p>
<p>&ldquo;After every game you listen to the winning team&rsquo;s national anthem out of respect,&rdquo; Schencopp wrote in a blog he kept through the trip. &ldquo;This one was particularly hard to listen to because it hurt us all not to be in the championship game.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Despite the frustrating loss, the team rallied for the bronze medal game, winning decisively, 5-2, capturing the bronze medal and closing out their portion of the tournament with the playing of the Star Spangled Banner.</p>
<p><span class="inline inline-right"><img src="http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/lubanski faceoff (suchin).img_assist_custom-280x187.jpg" alt="Brett Lubanski takes the faceoff as teammate Ben Suchin looks on." title="Brett Lubanski takes the faceoff as teammate Ben Suchin looks on." class="image image-img_assist_custom-280x187 " width="280" height="187" /><span class="caption" style="width: 278px;">Brett Lubanski takes the faceoff as teammate Ben Suchin looks on.</span></span>On the day of the closing ceremonies, the U.S. junior team watched the senior team crush Canada 6-0 to earn the gold medal. Goalie Dov Morris-Grumet won the Best Goalie Award and forward Alec Kirschner won MVP in the senior division. On the junior side, Brett Lubanski won Best Forward, tied for first in the tournament in scoring with five goals and nine points. Brandon Berkley led all players in the tournament with six assists.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The junior team could have won it all,&rdquo; said head coach Sam Greenblatt. &ldquo;Their only two losses came in shootouts but that&rsquo;s just the breaks of the game.&rdquo;</p>
<p>While the junior team finished a couple steps lower on the podium than they would have liked, it was the high level of competition, the camaraderie developed among teammates and the opportunity to experience the culture of the country that made the trip unforgettable. </p>
<p>&ldquo;Being with these guys made every experience greater because you&rsquo;re sharing it and it had similar impacts on all of us,&rdquo; Schencopp said. &ldquo;A lot of my teammates and kids I played against are going to bigger places in hockey and it was a great experience for me as a hockey player as well.&rdquo;</p>
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http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/team-united#commentsinternational hockeyJewish Championshipsyouth hockeyOnline Bonus ContentTue, 28 Jul 2009 14:46:44 +00001208 at http://www.usahockeymagazine.comFaceoff In Israelhttp://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/faceoff-israel
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U.S. Under-17 Select Jewish Team Looks To Emerge Victorious At First Jewish Championship </div>
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By:&nbsp;</div>
<a href="/node/16">Danielle Bernstein</a> </div>
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<p style="text-align: left;"><span class="inline inline-right"><img src="http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/greg perlman.img_assist_custom-280x371.jpg" alt="Greg Perlman looks for a pass in front of the net." title="Greg Perlman looks for a pass in front of the net." class="image image-img_assist_custom-280x371 " width="280" height="371" /><span class="caption" style="width: 278px;">Greg Perlman looks for a pass in front of the net.</span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Israel has never exactly been synonymous with hockey, but 150 miles north of Tel Aviv in the city of Metulla, hockey has found a home. </p>
<p>On July 5, four teams will take center stage on center ice at the Canada Center in the second Jewish Championship tournament, the first time the event will feature both a senior and a junior division.</p>
<p>The U.S. Under-17 Select Jewish Team is comprised of 17 players hailing from all corners of the country from traditional hockey hotbeds such as New York and Michigan and some nontraditional areas as well. More than half the team calls Florida, California or Arizona home. </p>
<p>When Director of Player Personnel Sam Greenblatt and Head Coach Paul Lubanski hit the pavement to recruit players for the team, they had no official tryout to see everyone at once but rather a collection of game film on each player under consideration. They used their contacts to learn about potential athletes they didn&rsquo;t know about and spoke to coaches and other references to learn about the strengths and weaknesses of each individual. </p>
<p>With a team made up of kids from various geographical areas, the team won&rsquo;t officially meet for the first time until right before they leave for Israel and will only have enough time to squeeze in a single 45-minute practice before their first game.</p>
<p>&ldquo;There are kids who know each other and who have played against each other, but as a team it&rsquo;s going to be all new,&rdquo; says Lubanski. &ldquo;They know what&rsquo;s at stake and they know what we&rsquo;re asking. I&rsquo;ve spoken to every one of these kids on several occasions so they know what we expect and for the most part and the type of hockey we&rsquo;re going to play.&rdquo;</p>
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<p style="text-align: left;"><span class="inline inline-left"><img src="http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/jaimie leonoff.img_assist_custom-280x201.jpg" alt="Jaimie Leonoff blocks a shot" title="Jaimie Leonoff blocks a shot" class="image image-img_assist_custom-280x201 " width="280" height="201" /><span class="caption" style="width: 278px;">Jaimie Leonoff blocks a shot</span></span>For many on the U.S. roster, the tournament is also a chance to be seen. Whether it&rsquo;s coaches or other administrators involved with the teams, connections to various junior leagues throughout North America are all over, potentially helping to further each player&rsquo;s career in hockey. </p>
<p>&ldquo;At a tournament like this, there will be some high level people observing,&rdquo; Lubanski says. &ldquo;It will give these kids from Arizona and California, if they&rsquo;re really serious about playing, an opportunity to make some connections that can possibly get them the opportunity to play somewhere on the Junior level that they may not have had before.&rdquo;</p>
<p>As more than 400 players converge on Metulla, it becomes evident that the Jewish Championships serve as much more than just a hockey tournament. It provides the opportunity for the Jewish players to learn about Israel&rsquo;s past and culture through trips to historical areas, an experience that can be life changing for all involved. On the off days of the tournament, the U.S. team will travel to Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, among other destinations.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The heritage part of it is very important,&rdquo; Greenblatt says. &ldquo;They can see, some of them for the first time in their life, what Israel is all about.&rdquo;<span class="inline inline-right"><img src="http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/jared lowell 1.img_assist_custom-280x341.jpg" alt="Jared Lowell races for the puck" title="Jared Lowell races for the puck" class="image image-img_assist_custom-280x341 " width="280" height="341" /><span class="caption" style="width: 278px;">Jared Lowell races for the puck</span></span></p>
<p>The first Jewish Championship featured senior teams from the United States, France, Canada and Israel and has already grown to include a Russian team and the addition of the junior division. The Israeli Ice Hockey Federation hopes to make this an event that takes place every two years while gradually increasing the number of participating countries. With two Canadian teams participating in this year&rsquo;s tournament, there&rsquo;s no shortage of competition for the U.S. team.</p>
<p>&ldquo;They&rsquo;re very serious about wanting to win,&rdquo; Lubanski says. &ldquo;But I got news for them &ndash; we are, too. Our goal is to win every shift and every period and every game. That&rsquo;s the way we&rsquo;re going to approach it.&rdquo;</p>
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<td colspan="2"><strong>U.S. Under-17 Select Jewish Team Roster</strong></td>
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<td><strong>Goaltenders</strong></td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
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<td>Jared Lenner</td>
<td>Boca Raton, Fla.</td>
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<td>Laimie Leonoff</td>
<td>Boca Raton, Fla.</td>
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<td><strong>Defense</strong></td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
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<td>Aaron Arm</td>
<td>Boca Raton, Fla.</td>
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<td>Nathan Bloomfield</td>
<td>Lakewood, Calif.</td>
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<td>Jacob Weisman</td>
<td>Scottsdale, Ariz.</td>
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<td>Kyle Zelanka</td>
<td>Lynbrook, N.Y.</td>
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<td>Brandon Berkley</td>
<td>Scottsdale, Ariz.</td>
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<td>Jared Lowell</td>
<td>Northbrook, Ill.</td>
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<td>Aaron Schencopp</td>
<td>Berkley, Mich.</td>
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<td><strong>Forwards</strong></td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
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<td>Ori Benyamini</td>
<td>Woodmere, N.Y.</td>
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<td>Max Blumenfeld</td>
<td>Old Westbury, N.Y.</td>
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<td>Brett Lubanski</td>
<td>Farmington Hills, Mich.</td>
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<td>Greg Perlman</td>
<td>Boca Raton, Fla.</td>
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<td>Ben Pulley</td>
<td>Huntington Valley, Pa.</td>
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<td>Dan Stern</td>
<td>Manhattan, N.Y.</td>
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<td>Ben Suchin</td>
<td>Anaheim Hills, Calif.</td>
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<td>Russell Suskind</td>
<td>Hollywood, Fla.</td>
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<td colspan="2"><strong>Head Coach: </strong>Paul Lubanski</td>
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<td colspan="2"><strong>Assistant Coach &amp; Director of Player Personnel: </strong>Sam Greenblatt</td>
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<td colspan="2"><strong>Team Hostess: </strong>Helen Greenblatt</td>
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<td colspan="2"><strong>Team Physician/Head Trainer: </strong>Dr. Alan Ashare</td>
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<td colspan="2"><strong>Mascot and Stickboy: </strong>Daniel Cutler</td>
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http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/faceoff-israel#commentsIsraelJewish ChampionshipsOnline Bonus ContentTue, 23 Jun 2009 14:57:26 +0000Danielle Bernstein743 at http://www.usahockeymagazine.com